I ain’t much of a songwriter, I don’t suppose. I never sold anything or made any money from it. Once or twice, years ago, I recorded a cassette tape and sent it to a music publisher. A couple of times I tried to audition as a folksinger. To no success. Still, over the years I think I wrote a couple of good ones. Nowadays, I … Continue reading Another Blues “Original”
“It’s been the ruin of many a poor girl” Many and various are the versions of The House of the Rising Sun. It was first written down and introduced to the world outside Appalacia by Alan Lomax in 1932, but the song’s origins lie a century earlier. The earlier lyrics tell of the lamentable downfall of a young woman. Later on in the history … Continue reading House of the Rising Sun
Time to cheer up, campers. I know, I know. We’re not done with the pandemic by any means. Or rather the pandemic is not done with us. Either way, here are some sing alongs to cheer your day. Plus some jokes which I hope are in the cheer-me-up category, although I must admit it’s mostly bottom-of-the-barrel material. How ’bout two Ray Charles’ favorites? Hit the … Continue reading Cheer Up Campers: Try Some Sing Alongs and Jokes
We sailed the copper sea Continue reading The Copper Sea
Hail December! The Twelfth month! Hail to the number twelve. Three cheers (four times) for the ol’ 12, the number on the top of the clock!! The word twelve, whose early English-Germanic roots derive from “two left”, or two left over after counting to ten, completes a certain cycle for us. After twelve o’clock we start to count the hours again. Twice every day we … Continue reading December Magazine
I wrote this one a long time ago, but I still like to play it. The title is Trust Me, or She Looks and Tells Me, because that’s the first line. But recently I refer to it in my mind as Rockland County, because that’s where the little story takes place. To borrow a bit of Bill Monroe’s terminology, it’s a “true life” song – … Continue reading Trust Me: A Rockland County Song
This one is about a girl named Suzie This one is just about coffee Continue reading More of Bumba’s Original Songs/Ditties
I don’t write too many songs nowadays. I used to. I think I wrote a couple of good ones in the past. In a fit of self absorption, I started to look through my old garageband files to see if I really had any good ones. I found ten that I think are good. Not all of them are old. Some of them are fairly … Continue reading Original Songs
What is the Blues? How does one define the “Blues Genre”? And why does one (or even two) have to define things all the time? What’s this with all these definitions? And what’s this with all these “genres”? For instance, San Francisco Bay Blues has too many chords to be called a blues, and, in my humble opinion, San Francisco Bay Blues is not really … Continue reading More “Almost Blueses”
I ain’t much of a songwriter. I admit it. Many moons ago I wrote a couple of good ones. Once or twice I made a cassette tape and sent it to a music publisher. This was in the days they had cassette tapes. I believe I received a polite rejection letter. Nowadays, I barely write songs anymore. All the same, sometimes, when I’m playing guitar … Continue reading Another Blues “Original”
